---
title: "Google: We Weren’t Being Sexist Giving Assistant a Female Voice"
description: "Google Assistant was initially supposed to have a male-sounding voice, according to Google, but the technology at the time didn't cooperate."
date: "2019-09-19"
modified: "2019-09-19"
authors:
  - name: "Kristin Houser"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-assistant-female-voice"
categories:
  - "Artificial Intelligence"
  - "Google"
tags:
  - "gender bias"
  - "google assistant"
  - "sexism"
  - "the digest"
---

# Google: We Weren’t Being Sexist Giving Assistant a Female Voice

![Google Assistant was initially supposed to have a male-sounding voice, according to Google, but the technology at the time didn't cooperate.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/google-assistant-female-voice.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Google/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## Ladies First

In May, the United Nations released a [troubling report](<https://futurism.com/united-nations-siri-alexa-sexist-ai>), arguing that female-sounding voices for AI assistants such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa perpetuate gender biases and encourage users to be sexist.

Now, Google has come out to [explain](<https://www.businessinsider.com/google-assistants-voice-meant-be-male-at-first-not-female-2019-9>) why it chose to give its Assistant a female-sounding voice — and the search giant says it has nothing to do with gender biases and everything to do with the available technology.

## Tech Troubles

According to Google Assistant product manager Brant Ward, Google initially planned to launch Assistant with a male voice. The problem, he [told *Business Insider*](<https://www.businessinsider.com/google-assistants-voice-meant-be-male-at-first-not-female-2019-9>), was that the audio produced by text-to-speech systems was easier to understand if delivered in a higher-pitched, female-sounding voice.

"At the time, the guidance was the technology performed better for a female voice," Ward said. "The \[text-to-speech\] systems in the early days kind of echoed \[early systems\] and just became kind of more tuned to female voices."

## The Voice

Thankfully, text-to-speech tech has come a long way since then, meaning a wider range of voices for Assistant.

In fact, Google just [added new voices](<https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/10/17556692/google-assistant-voices-color-coding-scheme-ai>) for the AI in nine languages on Wednesday, using colors and not names to differentiate between them. English-speaking users, meanwhile, can already choose from between 11 different voices for Assistant — including that of male crooner [John Legend](<https://www.tomsguide.com/us/john-legend-google-assistant-setup,review-6358.html>).

**READ MORE:** [A UN study suggested it's sexist for voice assistants like Siri or Alexa to have female voices — but Google says it wanted to use a male voice from the very beginning](<https://www.businessinsider.com/google-assistants-voice-meant-be-male-at-first-not-female-2019-9>) \[*Business Insider*\]

**More on gender bias:** *[United Nations: Siri and Alexa Are Encouraging Misogyny](<https://futurism.com/united-nations-siri-alexa-sexist-ai>)*

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinjhouser>)